There’s no doubt about it: Nicaraguan cigars are among the most popular smokes in the United States. In many cases, cigars from Nicaragua are our top import when it comes to breaking things down by country. Some of the top cigar brands that are garnering awards and accolades by the day and sending aficionados into ecstasy with every puff are located in Nicaragua: Padrón, My Father, AJ Fernandez, Oliva, Plasencia, Drew Estate… the list really goes on and on. With every cigar sold, Nicaraguan tobacco continues its takeover of the Western market and the world at large.
Much like Cuba, Nicaragua has an excellent climate for tobacco growing, and nutrient-rich soil that gives Nicaraguan tobacco its signature peppery flavor that many refer to as the “Nic Kick.” It’s not just pure bite, although some blends are crafted around that note. Instead, many Nicaraguan cigars display a balance of spice and other, more subtle flavors. These can include cedar, sweet cinnamon, dark cacao, and fruits that range from cherries to raisins to mandarins and beyond. Delicious baked treats like lemon shortbread or even comforting graham cracker have popped up in reviews of cigars from Nicaragua.
Nicaragua has a number of lush and productive growing regions. Top-rated Nicaraguan cigars feature tobacco that is grown in Estelí, Condega, Jalapa, and increasingly, the volcanic island of Ometepe (check out the Plasencia Alma del Fuego). While the leaf is soaking in the sun up and down the western part of the nation, the area around Estelí remains the beating heart of cigar making, with famous companies around every corner.
Some of the best-selling lines from Oliva, one of the oldest cigarmaking families around, use primarily Nicaraguan leaf. Try the Serie G Maduro to get a taste of why so many cigar companies are focused on Nicaragua these days. Other Nicaraguan cigars well worth a try include the Drew Estate Undercrowns, Perdomo’s 20th Anniversary Connecticut, or a Davidoff Nicaragua. Saving the best Nicaraguan cigars for last, the sticks that typically enjoy the greatest devotion from fans are cigars like the 94-rated Drew Estate Liga Privada No. 9, 95-rated La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor, and Cigar of the Year winner My Father Le Bijou 1922.
Nicaraguan cigar makers have been making bomb smokes for years, but the way things are continuing to develop, we tend to think they’re just getting started. Nicaraguan cigars will be dominating our humidors for a long time to come, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Please browse our selection of Nicaraguan cigars at your leisure.
